Statements on the German Coal Commission

In 2019, the German Coal Commission was finalising their final agreement after months of intensive talks between government, industry and civil society representatives. The ultimate decision was to recommend a coal phase out date of 2038. Shortly before the final agreement was decided in late January 2019, the head of RWE, Rolf Martin Schmitz, made a statement in a national newspaper that “The commission’s proposals have grave consequences for the lignite business of RWE…We will thoroughly assess the specific implications for our company.”

At the same time, climate activists from Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Climate Alliance and Deutscher Naturschutzring also made a public statement in the newspapers that the Coal Commission agreement violated the requirements of the Paris Agreement.

These public contestations are rhetorical resistance and adaptation strategies, respectively, meant to try to influence public opinion with regard to the validity of the commission agreement, and the future decarbonisation pathway. While neither public statement changed transition pathways on their own, they were both part of larger battles for public opinion, ideas and values that will continuously shape policy choices as transitions progress. Current plans for coal phase out in Germany target 2030.